Bronx, NY---A
very large crowd of 44,682 came to a matinee of Thursday with the hope and
possibly even the expectation that the recently reconstituted Bronx Bombers,
that scored 27 runs against the Los Angeles in the past two games, would win
and sweep the four game set.

The faith of
those hopeful fans was not rewarded as the Yanks scored four runs, three in the
final inning, too little certainly and almost too late. The Yanks hit safely in
all nine innings, but did not score in seven. On the other hand, the Angels
scored eight, more than enough to achieve an easy victory.

Phil Hughes,
the Yankee starter, did not pitch poorly. He yielded only six hits in six
innings, but three resulted in runs off Hughes. Rookie J.B. Schuck led off the
contest with a single. After stealing second, he scored on a single by Josh
Hamilton.

Erick Aybar
began the third with a double. After two were retired, Hughes surrendered his
23rd home run, 17 at Yankee Stadium, in his 23rd start of
the season to Chris Nelson. To add insult to injury, Nelson was briefly a
member of the Yankees in May and the home run was his first of 2013.

After the
game, Nelson spoke about the at bat, “I started off with a strikeout [in inning
#2] and had to make adjustments. I just battled my way back [from a 0-2
count].”

The three
runs were sufficient for Hughes to earn the loss, his 12th of the
season. The right-hander lost his last five decisions and eight of his last
nine. He has been especially ineffective at home. He has a mark of 0-8 and an
ERA of 7.46 in his last nine starts at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankee
relievers in the eighth, Shawn Kelley, Boone Logan and Joba Chamberlain, poured
gasoline on the fire that had already started as they collectively gave up an
additional five runs that inning.

The hero of
the game for L.A. was Nelson, who hit his second homer of the game in the
eighth with the bases filled. His five RBI was a career high for a single
contest. Of the game, he remarked, “I really enjoyed it.”

He also reminisced
with reporters of his short time as a Yankee this year, “I enjoyed my time
here. It was a great experience for me.”

Mike
Scioscia, the manager of the Angels, was pleased but not surprised by the
progress Nelson has made with his team, “It’s a great day for Chris, both
offensively and defensively. He’s got some pop. Hopefully, it’s a sign of more
to come. I think he’s getting acclimated.”

“Yankee
killer’ Mike Trout continued his offensive against the Yanks. He raised his hit
streak to 12 games against them. He reached base three times with a double,
walk and was hit by a pitch to raise his on base streak to 37 consecutive
games.

Yankee
second sacker Robinson Cano raised his hitting streak to 10 games and his 2013 batting
average to .300 with three hits during the game.

Alfonse
Soriano who hit four homers and drove in 13 runs in the previous two games, did
not lessen his batting success. He hit safely four times in five at bats and
knocked in a run. When asked about Soriano, the opposing manager joked, “We
kept Soriano in the park.”

The Yanks
now travel north to Boston for a three game weekend series. They return to
Yankee Stadium on Tuesday for a four game set with Toronto.

Keez On Sports

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